[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 101 (Thursday, May 24, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24091-24092]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-11109]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2018-ICCD-0060]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 
Temporary Expansion of Public Service Loan Forgiveness (TE-PSLF)

AGENCY: Federal Student Aid (FSA), Department of Education (ED).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is 
requesting the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct an 
emergency review of a new information collection.

[[Page 24092]]


DATES: Approval by the OMB has been requested by May 21, 2018. A 
regular clearance process is also hereby being initiated. Interested 
persons are invited to submit comments on or before July 23, 2018.

ADDRESSES: To access and review all the documents related to the 
information collection listed in this notice, please use http://www.regulations.gov by searching the Docket ID number ED-2018-ICCD-
0060. Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted 
electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov by selecting the Docket ID number or via postal 
mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. Please note that comments 
submitted by fax or email and those submitted after the comment period 
will not be accepted. Written requests for information or comments 
submitted by postal mail or delivery should be addressed to the 
Director of the Information Collection Clearance Division, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, LBJ, Room 216-34, 
Washington, DC 20202-4537.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Beth Grebeldinger, 202-377-4018.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Education (ED), in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with 
an opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, and continuing 
collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact 
of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's 
information collection requirements and provide the requested data in 
the desired format. ED is soliciting comments on the proposed 
information collection request (ICR) that is described below. The 
Department of Education is especially interested in public comment 
addressing the following issues: (1) Is this collection necessary to 
the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this information be 
processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden 
accurate; (4) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, 
and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the 
Department minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, 
including through the use of information technology. Please note that 
written comments received in response to this notice will be considered 
public records.
    Title of Collection: Temporary Expansion of Public Service Loan 
Forgiveness (TE-PSLF).
    OMB Control Number: 1845--NEW.
    Type of Review: A new information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 10,899.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 4,380.
    Abstract: This is a request for an emergency clearance to enable 
FSA to ensure that the required operational changes can be implemented 
to allow for the benefits to be available to federal student loan 
borrowers as well as to remain in compliance with the statutory 
requirements.
    Section 315 of Title III, Division H in the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2018, (Pub. L. 115-141) included a provision for ED 
to implement ``. . . a simple method for borrowers to apply for loan 
cancellation . . .'' under a temporary expansion of the PSLF program. 
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, required ED to implement an 
application process within 60 days of enactment. To meet that 
requirement, we are requesting emergency clearance by May 21, 2018. We 
are also requesting the initiation of the full clearance review to 
allow for public comment on the process.
    ED is requesting a new collection to be used to obtain information 
from federal student loan borrowers to make a determination of their 
eligibility for participation in the loan forgiveness mandated by the 
new appropriations law. This loan forgiveness is only available to 
Direct Loan borrowers who otherwise qualify for Public Service Loan 
Forgiveness (PSLF) and meet other new requirements.
    Additional Information: An emergency clearance approval for the use 
of the system is described below due to the following conditions:
     This is a request for an emergency clearance to enable FSA 
to ensure that the required operational changes can be implemented to 
allow for the benefits to be available to federal student loan 
borrowers as well as to remain in compliance with the statutory 
requirements.

    Dated: May 21, 2018.
Kate Mullan,
Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Office of 
the Chief Privacy Officer, Office of Management.
[FR Doc. 2018-11109 Filed 5-23-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P